


Double Date

by MiraculousMage



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-29 04:29:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6359368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiraculousMage/pseuds/MiraculousMage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ladybug is crying about a failed attempt at going on a date with Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir offers her a second chance, claiming he knows the boy. However, his offer comes with a catch- he gets to go on a date with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Will Marinette be able to survive two very different dates in a row?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ladies First

**Author's Note:**

> I've been in love with Miraculous Ladybug ever since the first preview video. Now that the show's in full swing, I just can't get the characters out of my head, and so, I've decided to write a fanfic. I've looked over this chapter repeatedly, and I hope it meets people's standards. I feel like I might know a little bit of how Marinette feels- if I'm never going to be ready for this, why wait to do it? So, here you go, before I lose my nerve to post it- my first big fanfic in literal years.

* * *

 

Marinette stares at the bouquet of flowers she has in her hands, each flower being one she picked personally to join it. She remembers the shopkeeper’s words as she helped the young girl with choosing them. White chrysanthemums in the base for friendship, a lilac in the center fora budding love, and irises in the middle to express hope for more of both. Another voice interrupts her remembrance, and she realizes it’s Alya, trying to cheer her on. “Come on, girl, you’ve got this.”

She nods in reply, feeling some hope of her own welling up inside her. “I’ve got this!”

She can feel Alya’s hand on her shoulder as she keeps speaking. “You’re going to give Adrien these flowers, and ask him to the Ladies First dance tonight!”

Alya sounds so sure. She can almost feel her friend’s energy pour into her through the contact, and she feels excited to be going through with this. “I’m going to give him these flowers and ask him to the dance tonight!”

Alya stands up and points towards Adrien, whose limo has just arrived.“Now get out there!”

Marinette peeks her head out over the side of the stairs to get a look at Adrien. Everything seems to slow down for her as she can see the morning sun reflect off of his golden hair, his emerald eyes, his pearly smile- she immediately ducks back down in a panic, trying to put how amazing he looks to her out of her mind. All of the energy she had built up flows out of her, and her knees feel weak now. “I- I can’t, Alya!”  
Her friend starts trying to pull her back up, with plenty of resistance. “Don’t give me a repeat of his birthday, girl! Do I have to push you out there again? If you don’t get him now, some other girl, possibly C-H-L-O-E, is going to snatch him up!”

Marinette can feel the horror bubble up inside her stomach that the name Chloe brings, and that it is far worse than the idea of not asking him herself. Marinette realizes that Alya had figured out how to use her fear against her, and she hopes this doesn’t become a recurring issue. “Okay, okay, I’ll talk to him!”

She picks herself up and walks over to him with purpose, but freezes right in front of him as he talks to Nino, his actual words being tuned out in her panic. Nino notices her first, and decides to snap Adrien out of it by acknowledging her. “Oh, hey Marinette! Cool flowers! Who’s the lucky guy?”

She feels like deer caught in the headlights, especially with the sunlight reflecting off of Adrien and into her face. “Uh- Um- I-”

Adrien seems happy to see her at first, and then he looks down at the flowers. Marinette notices immediately that he looks a bit sad and feels her soul being crushed by rejection before he even speaks. “I wish someone would give me a bouquet like that. So far nobody’s even asked.” She hears a small beep from his pocket, and he pulls out his phone, a red warning and a countdown meeting his gaze. “Woops, I gotta get moving. I’ll see you in class later! Good luck asking that guy out!” He runs off, waving at his friends before entering the building.

The world feels empty to Marinette for a moment, before she feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks at the owner, and realizes it’s Nino. She can tell he’s feeling almost as awkward as she is, since he’s her friend as well. She can hear Alya walk up behind them as he starts speaking to try to calm her down in his own way. “That was… harsh. He’s always been a bit oblivious, though. I’ll try to distract anyone trying to ask him out until you can get that invite in, Marinette.”

Alya jumps up and hugs him before pecking him on the cheek, and Marinette giggles as his hand comes off of her should probably faster than he meant it to in order to put it on Alya. The reporter grins as she leans into him. “You’re the best, Nino. Wanna be _my_  partner to the dance?”

He grins and blushes a little, before giving her a wink. “I thought you’d never ask. I’ll see you guys in class!”

As he runs off, Alya stands there stunned for a moment before yelling after him. “YOU DIDN’T SAY YES, NINO! YOU GOTTA SAY YES!” She gives a sigh of defeat after he just waves back at her, and turns to her friend. “…C’mon Marinette, we’ll get through that boy’s thick skull yet.”

Marinette nods, looking down at the flowers she had picked out for Adrien. He had looked so sad when he thought he wasn’t getting a dance partner… A new sense of determination springs up within her. “Y-yeah. Let me just… put these flowers in my locker first.”

* * *

The day passes by rather quickly for Marinette, as she’s too nervous about asking out Adrien to the dance to pay attention to much else. Nino keeps true to his word, and Alya helps him, she notices. Between the two of them, girls approaching Adrien pretty much don’t have a chance to actually ask him out.

At the end of the day, Marinette dashes to her locker, and she tunes out the exclamations of surprise from other students she nearly bowls over. She already knows the plan, but recites it in her head once more, just in case it didn’t stick the last hundred or so times she went over it. Nino will delay Adrien so he can’t leave without Marinette asking, and Alya will push her into it whether she likes it or not. She’s nervous, her determination having been eaten away over the course of the day, but after waiting for so long, she feels like it’s no longer an option to retreat.

She quickly opens up her locker, but what she sees is not what she was expecting. A chilling feeling of emptiness creeps into her heart, in order to match the complete lack of flowers in her locker. She calls over to her friend, who’s just now catching up. “ _Aaalyaa_?”

Alya looks confused as she approaches. “What is it-” She pauses, looks into the locker, and then back to Marinette. “...Where are the flowers?”

The dam bursts. Alya immediately pulls into her a hug so she can sob out an “I don’t know” into her chest. She can hear Nino’s ringtone from Alya’s pocket, and tries not to feel bad about the decrease in hug pressure as the girl reaches to pull out her phone while still holding her best friend. Alya taps to receive his text, and she stiffens up enough that Marinette can feel it.

Ayla’s voice comes as a harsh whisper. “Oh. Oh no.”

Marinette pulls back, concern for her friend overriding her own problems for a moment, and she wipes away her own tears. “W-what? What is it?”

Ayla hesitates for a moment, and then shows it to Marinette. It’s a text that simply says _I’m sorry! I tried to stop her!_

Marinette’s frozen in fear for a moment. No, she tells herself, despite the dots connecting themselves immediately. Not even Chloe would stoop so low, no matter how badly Marinette thinks of her, and vice-versa. She wouldn’t do this to Marinette. A moment later, there’s a picture, and Chloe is clearly holding a bouquet of flowers for Adrien to receive. The white and purple flowers are immediately recognizable. She feels the tears starting to flow again. Alya doesn’t quite know what to say. “Oh, no, c’mon, he hasn’t said yes yet-”

Both of their phones ring quickly. Marinette knows exactly what that means, and apparently so does Alya, as she immediately calls out to her friend, but to no avail- Marinette can’t hear her anymore.

* * *

“Marinette? MARINETTE WAIT-” Alya looks down at the phone, and she can see that it’s a selfie of Chloe with Adrien holding “her” flowers that the girl had sent to all of her contacts. “If ever I have wanted to kill Chloe, now is that time. Hello? Hawk Moth? ...Damn. Time for Plan B.”

* * *

 

As she slams shut the door to her room, Marinette can hear Tiki’s voice right before she collapses into bed. “Oh, Marinette. Is there anything I can do?”

“...I wish there was, Tikki… Right now, I think I just need to cry.” And cry she does.

She wakes up to the sound of a phone call from Alya. She pulls out her phone, the small screen being the only light in the room, and realizes exactly how long she’s been out. It’s time for the dance. In fact, Alya’s probably at the dance, and wondering where Marinette is. She ignores the call for now. She can’t bring herself to talk to anyone right now. A few moments later, she gets a text instead. She’s a little too curious, and opens the message. It says _Don’t worry, girl. This will definitely be a night Chloe won’t forget._

That doesn’t sound very good to Marinette. She frantically texts back, panic settling into its usual place in her heart. _Alya? What are you doing?_

_Nothing. I already did it. Just have to sit back and watch the fireworks._

Marinette doesn’t know what to do. Should she go to the dance and stop whatever’s happening? Would she even make it in time? She’s paralyzed for what seems like several minutes, staring at her phone’s blank screen, before putting it down. It’s not worth it to go, she tells herself, right before her phone buzzes again. She opens the message in a hurry, without even looking at who sent it.

One more mistake to add to her misery.

It’s a photo- of Marinette, from years ago, judging by the bun she’s wearing. She had just been splashed by a passing car. She checks the sender and she can feel her heart stop.

It’s Chloe.

Another photo message comes in. And another. They don't stop coming. Each one was an incident more embarrassing than the last, whether due to her bad luck or Chloe’s bullying. The sheer amount of them is enough to make her sick. She remembers each and every single one of them, and each memory feels like a splash of cold water, slowly filling her heart and lungs until she’ll drown.

It’s the message that comes at the end of them all that chills her most of all.

_He left me on the dance floor! Because of you! I’ll make sure he’ll never see YOU without thinking about these photos ever again! You were NEVER good enough for him, and now you never will be!_

She can feel her heart start to sink into darkness. Tikki seems to feel it too, because she wakes up from her spot in Marinette’s purse and flies over, a look of concern in her eyes.  
“Marinette? Is everything alright?”

She tries to look her friend in the face, to say that no, everything’s not alright. She wants Tikki to make everything better, but the feeling in her heart can’t be warmed by a talk and cookies.  
“I… I… I need to be alone right now. Tikki, spots on!”

Within moments, she has made the transition from Marinette to Ladybug, in mind and body. As she climbs the ladder to her roof, her phone rings some more from the bed. She knows that ringtone by heart by now. It’s Alya. She can’t bring herself to talk to Alya right now, or anyone for that matter. It’s time for Ladybug to patrol the city of Paris, to put all of Marinette’s worries behind the mask and be worried about other people.

It’s Ladybug who races across the rooftops, but even now she feels tears in her eyes. Chloe’s words echo in her mind, and before she knows it, Ladybug is crying, and the mask is no longer going to hide Marinette- not tonight.

Soon, she finds herself face to face with the Eiffel Tower, and uses her yo-yo to zip up onto a steel beam with a nice view overlooking the rest of the city. Normally, the beauty of the city at night calms her, but as she sits down to look at it all, what caused her to cry in the first place stings anew, and she can't help but let out a loud sob.

"My lady? Are you okay?"

The voice of her partner startles her, and she turns to look at him, his black suit blending in with the dark sky beyond. She stares at him for a moment as she recalls that he had agreed that tonight wasn’t a patrol night, since he had somewhere else to be. Wondering if she simply hadn’t noticed his presence or if he was following her, she wipes away her tears quickly and tries to put on a brave face. "Y-yeah! Totally!"

Chat seems rather serious for once as he sits down next to her and looks over the city with her. "It's not like you to lie."

She pales a little, and looks away from him. She honestly thought she’d be alone up here, and she feels like a rat in a trap. "I-I lie all the time! Have to hide my secret identity, after all."

She can feel his gaze on her as he turns, despite not looking at him. "Well, you don't lie to ME. Not like other people do."

Embarrassment fills her cheeks. He's right, mostly. If there's anyone she feels like she's truly herself around, it's Chat- whether she's Ladybug or Marinette. She dares a glance at him, and sees the look of concern on his face as he speaks again. "C'mon. I'm your friend. Tell me? You can omit anything incriminating if you want. I just want to see you smile again."

She glances down at her knees again, uncertainty consuming Ladybug just like it does Marinette. "...I'm not sure I should be telling you of all people, really..."

He assumes a look of mock offense in his usual dramatic manner, one hand pressed against his heart. "Is there something _Chat Noir_ can't be trusted with?"

She mulls it over in her mind for a moment. On the one hand, Chat Noir was always flirting with her in one form or another, so she didn't feel right telling him about her love troubles. On the other hand, that might just mean he might be the most qualified friend for her to talk to about it, if he had actually ever been on a date (which she doubted). "...Okay, okay. I... like someone."

He seems to take it in stride as he looks back out towards Paris. "Well, that's not really a surprise. Most people do. So? What's the matter?"

She curls up a bit, wrapping her arms around her legs. Chloe's face pops into her mind for a moment, as do all the photos, and the cold feeling in her heart creeps in. "I... let someone get under my skin about it."

His eyebrows raise at that, raising his mask along with them. "That doesn't seem like you very much."

She lets out a small sigh. She forgot that Chat knew nothing about how she was much more vulnerable Marinette. The lines between the two girls were broken down tonight, and Chat had come at a really inopportune time. "Yeah, well... Ladybug isn't all she's cracked up to be, you know? In the end, I'm still a teenage girl."

He lets out a small chuckle, and for a moment she wonders what's so funny. "Even after 5000 years?"

She had completely forgotten about that crack she made. She rolls her eyes as she replies, "Eternal youth has its downsides."

They both chuckle for a bit, and silence settles in for a moment as they both think of what to say next. She almost wishes it would stay that way, but Chat comes up with something first. "Why would someone try to make you feel bad about being in love?"

She has flashes of Adrien's smile and Chloe's scowl, and of all the times she hated herself. "Because they think he's too good for me. And... sometimes I think they're right."

Chat's astonishment doesn't seem nearly as mocking this time as he leans in to look at her. "Someone too good for _Ladybug_? Who on earth could _that_ be?"

Normally she wouldn't tell. After all, Marinette and Ladybug were supposed to be separate people, and Marinette's crush wasn't exactly well hidden. However, Adrien himself was fairly well-known, so it wouldn't be that weird to admit it, and it was Marinette who needed to vent tonight. "Well... Promise you won't laugh?"

He breaks into that cat-like grin that always makes her roll her eyes whenever she sees it. "Purr-omise! Cat's honor!"

The puns, those awful puns, actually manage to make her smile for once. He seems quite pleased with himself. "There's that smile!"

She looks out towards the city, towards the direction of the school and her crush's home. "...Adrien. Adrien Agreste."  
Chat's silent for a moment. She keeps expecting him to say something, but the cracks aren't coming. She looks to the side, and she sees what looks like shock on his face before he recomposes himself and tries to tell a joke. "Hmm, do you mean the famous model Adrien Agreste, stealer of all the ladies’ hearts? If it's looks or money you want in a man, I'm sure I can match him-"

She realizes instantly that admitting to a celebrity crush was sort of weird, even for Ladybug. "No! I mean, yes, but- I don't like him because of his modeling. Or his money. It's..." Her face softens, and a small smile comes to her lips as she remembers the first time she really talked to him. "...He's so kind."

This seems to shut up Chat for a few moments, as he looks away as well. After a car passes by on the street below, he speaks again. "Kind? So, you know him then?"

She really should stop talking now, but the line between Marinette and Ladybug was going to take a lot longer to rebuild than Chat was giving her. "I... see him often enough. He's... strong, and kind, even though his dad can be pretty harsh. And he always tries to make time for his friends, despite his heavy schedule. He's even nice to Chloe, which I thought meant he was a bad person at first too, but..."

Chat just listens intently, not really replying with the quips she was expecting him to. It takes him a moment to realize she wasn't finishing that thought out loud. "Huh. Yeah, sounds like he's at least decent. You ever get to talk to him?"

She remembers all the times she tried and failed to talk to him, and also the few times she succeeded. "...Sometimes. I had such a hard time at first, but... lately, it's been easier. He was just so much... better than me, I thought-"

Chat's astonishment is louder and more obvious this time, and she looks in time to see him climb back up from nearly falling off the beam. He almost sounds angry as he shouts, "Who's better than you?! You're _Ladybug-_ "

She stops him before he can continue, feeling nearly sick at disappointing her partner like this. "I know, I know, but... that didn't settle in for a while, you know? I still thought of myself as some plain, dumb girl that didn't have anything worth noticing. Can't attract someone with spots I can't wear." She looks down at her own suit, and remembers all the times she wished she had been suited up when she talked to Adrien, and even the one time she was.

"So what do you think now?"

The question catches her by surprise, and she has to think about it for a moment. Who is Marinette now, if she wasn't plain or weak or stupid anymore? Was it only just now that the line between Marinette and Ladybug blurred, or had it started a long time ago? "Well... I think I'm strong, and smart, and I'm his friend. I just have to give it my best, you know? I can't give up without telling him how I feel. It wouldn't be very Ladybug-like, now would it?"

He smiles, and pats her on the back. She decides not to remove his hand, yet. It feels nice for once. "...Well, not the Ladybug I know. Do you know how he feels? About you, or about Ladybug?"

She smiles as she remembers some of the good times she's had with Adrien, some warmth creeping into her heart. "Well, as friends, I think we get along well enough now. As Ladybug... I met him once. He was a little awkward around me, but, most people are. You remember, when that hypnotist attacked Gabriel Agreste?"

She can see his smile turn into a smirk. "Aha, so that's what you were doing while I was out fighting! I didn't take you to be the flirting type, especially not on the job!"

She can feel the intense blush on her face as she rushes to deny it, but then she remembers who she's talking to. "Oh, like you don't flirt with civilians too! I know all about that "Princess" of yours. You do that for all the girls, or just Marinette?"

It's Chat Noir's turn to blush intensely, and she gets quite a lot of pleasure out of how fast his hand is removed from her back. "Th-that's, uh, I mean-"

_"Yes?"_ She leans in closer to intensify his discomfort.

He lets out a large sigh and runs his hand through his hair, ruffling his cat ears a little as he looks away. "Okay, okay, you caught me. I like her, alright?"

She can feel the blood drain from her face, and she's glad he's too busy being uncomfortable to notice it before she recomposes herself, putting a hand on her chin to support her from falling over. "O-Oh? What do you like about her?"

He seems quite pleased to be thinking about her as he stares at the city. "Well, you said it yourself, she _is_ pretty cute. And smart, and brave, too! She even thinks I'm cool! Honestly, what's not to like?"

Ladybug squints a little at her partner. When did she say he was cool to his face? "Oh really? She told you that?"

Chat coughs, and Ladybug knows that she's on to something. "N-no, no, I just heard her mention it once. She didn't know I was listening."

The only person she ever said Chat was cool to was Adrien. Chat was listening?! _In school?!_ Her mind raced a mile a minute on how he had accomplished this. Microphone? Ninja tricks? Invisibility powers? Wait, if he had been following her that intently, he'd have seen her transform by now. Did he go to her school?

"Do you usually listen in on her conversations, or did a supervillain toss you into a locker?"

"Hey, those lockers would never be able to hold-" She can see the realization dawn on his face, like a cat realizing they’d just been locked out of the house. He tries to pass it off with a wink and a comment. "Forget I said that. Whew, is it hot up here or is it just you?"

She rolls her eyes, like she always does when he flirts. "Sure you should be flirting with me when you have a civilian's heart to capture?"

He looks very unapologetic about it, slowly slipping back into the Chat Noir she knows and loathes. "Hey, gotta keep my options open. Besides, how would I go about getting a date with her anyways? Just show up at her house one day with flowers? The media would go nuts, let alone her parents. They're nice, I don't want to do that to them, you know?"

Once again, a small detail that was slightly creeping her out. "You know her parents?"

"Well, yeah! They do run an amazing bakery, after all. Sometimes I stop by to sneak some sweets. Their pastries are just purr-fection!"

She nearly slaps herself for that. Right, her parents man the bakery, half of Paris had probably met them at least once. "Well, why not ask her as whoever you are in real life?"

Chat seems to consider this for a moment. "Hmm, well... pros, I could get a date without that bad of a media hassle, but cons, you could just ask her about her new handsome and rich boyfriend and there goes my secret identity. The unfortunate downside of mutual friends."

She rolls her eyes again, imagining Chat trying to woo Marinette with cat puns. She was never going to fall for that. "Is she really so great? Don’t you have anyone else in your life?"

Chat leans backwards, letting his eyes scan the stars. "Well, she's a hero too, don't you think? She doesn't have superpowers, but... she still does things no one else will do. She stands up for others, and puts herself in harm's way so others will be safe, and can't let evildoing be when she knows it's afoot. Sounds like a certain someone I know, right?"

She tries to avoid having suspicion in her eyes as she looks back at him. Does he know? Or is it just animal instinct that leads him to that conclusion? "A hero, huh? She doesn't tell me about things like that much. We mostly talk about fashion, really."

"She probably just feels overwhelmed by being in your presence, my lady. I get the same way!"

His good mood is a bit infectious, and she holds back a giggle. "Well, if that's your way of buttering me up to help you get a date, it's not working."

She registers silence for a moment before he springs up, wide-eyed. "That's it! You can ask her for me! If you could set this up, Ladybug, that'd be amazing!"

Ladybug is really confused by this turn of events. Wasn't this conversation supposed to be about her feelings for Adrien? "What? Even if I asked, I'm not entirely sure she'd say yes. Besides, what's in it for me?"

Chat looks like he has a gleam in his eye. He's not being deterred, she feels, but encouraged, as he sits back down to get on her eye level. "What if I said I could paws-itively guarantee you a date with Adrien Agreste in return?"

Her breath catches. No. _Noooo._ She stares at him incredulously, and his cat-like smirk only gets bigger. "Wh-what?"

He strikes some poses, as if waving to a crowd and cameras. "Did you think all that talk about me being rich and famous was bluster? I've got some friends in high places, my lady!"

Her jaw drops a little. She can't help it, she really thought he was just being silly. "You? Friends with Adrien Agreste?"

"Yep! I've even been in his room. I must say, it's a great place to hang out. He has arcade cabinets in there! PLURAL! And a half-pipe! He's not as good at skateboarding as I am, mind, but being a superhero helps."

She shakes her head to clear it of confusion. Yeah, that... sounds like his room alright. She has no idea what to say.

He leans in a bit and arches his eyebrows suggestively as he speaks. "Also, I have it on good authority that he's a Ladybug fan. Just saying."

Was... was Chat _trying_ to hook her up with Adrien? What was his game? She remembered a time recently he'd be _jealous_ of another guy glancing in her general direction. Now she was too curious to say no. She apologized to future Marinette- future Ladybug had a date to catch. "Alright, you win. I'll see what I can do. I can't promise anything, but worse comes to worst I'll bribe her."

He looks positively ecstatic and hugs her excitedly. She blushes, not used to the close contact with the only friend she knows who wears a skin-tight suit. "You're the best, Ladybug!"

She pushes him off roughly, causing him to fall onto his back. She stands up and brushes herself off. "Yeah, yeah. Geez. I came up here to cry, not set you up on dates."

He sits back up and looked a bit sheepish. "...Sorry?"

She can't help but let a giggle escape. "Well, it's... something new. And you're doing me a huge favor in return, so... I'll let you know next patrol how it is."

Chat stands up as well, his grin coming back. "Well, I wish you luck, my lady!"

She tilts her hip, crosses her arms, and raises an eyebrow. "You? Wishing me luck?"

He raises an eyebrow in return. "Afraid it'll be bad luck?"

She shakes her head and looks him in the eyes again. "Just surprised, that's all."

"I just want my lady to be happy."

The smile she has on her face is the biggest and most natural one she's had in hours. "...Thanks, Chat. You're a good friend."

He gives a bow as he replies. "I'd be a terrible partner if I couldn't even be a good friend."

She smirks a little as she pulls out her yo-yo so she can go back home. "You're a good partner too, I don't care what they say."

She revels in the look of shock on his face as she swings away on her string. "What who say? My lady? MY LADY!"

* * *

 

As soon as she was truly out of sight, Chat Noir finds a good place to hide, transforms back into Adrien Agreste, and quietly shouts at Plagg. "PLAGG! PLEASE TELL ME THIS ISN'T A DREAM!"

Plagg shakes the grogginess of being inside the ring out of his head before replying. "Nope. You've got a date with Ladybug, you sly dog- I mean, cat. But what was that about Marinette? I didn't know you liked her like that."

Adrien puts the biggest grin he's capable of on his face. "Don't you see Plagg? Marinette is Ladybug! This explains..." He calms down a bit as he thinks about all the times Marinette had stood out in school. "...Wow, a lot, really. Marinette had a crush on me? I thought she was just an awkward fangirl who didn’t know how to be my friend. Is that why…” He thinks back to the bouquet of flowers that had been ‘from Chloe.’ He’d have to put them in a more important spot in his room soon. “...Those flowers…”

Plagg looks genuinely surprised. "Wait, you figured it out? I thought it'd take you a while longer. You're usually super oblivious."

Adrien's face manages to look twice as surprised as Plagg's. "Y-you knew?"

"Of course I knew! I'm a genius, I figured it out, like..." Plagg's silent for a moment as he struggles to remember, and seems to be counting something on fingers he doesn’t have. "How long ago was it? I forget." He shrugs in defeat. "Time's an illusion anyways."

"Plagg! Why didn't you tell me she was Ladybug?"

"Oh, her being Ladybug! I thought you meant her crush. No, figured that out, like, last week. You two made an agreement not to tell each other your identities. Now you're using that to your advantage to get two dates with her before _she_  figures it out! Oh man, she's going to be so mad once she realizes."

Adrien's jaw drops, along with his heart, and Plagg can't help but snicker as the boy's mouth hangs open. "...Oh. _Oh._ "

Plagg looks genuinely excited as he talks about the situation. "I can't wait to see the look on her face! Yours is already pretty bad!"

Adrien can't figure out whether to be hurt or angry. "Plagg! It's not funny!"

Plagg just waves at him dismissively in response. "It's as funny to me as cheese is tasty!"

The blonde starts pacing back and forth in his worry. "Ugh, how am I going to explain this to her? _When_ should I explain this to her?"

Plagg just watches his charge pace for a bit before speaking again. "Revealing your secret identity seems more like a third date sort of thing."

Adrien stops to look at his Kwami crossly, but a thought strikes him. "What do you know about dating?"

Plagg rolls his eyes as convincingly as he can as he talks. "Oh, please, you think I haven't had to deal with the love lives of all the previous Miraculous wielders? It's been awhile since a Cat fell in love with a Ladybug, though. Really, things were so much simpler back in the day. You flirted, you mated, and just like that, courtship over. Then people had to go and make it complicated!”

Adrien may be oblivious, but the blush on his face is showing that he knows exactly what the Kwami meant by mating. "P-Plagg!"

Plagg snickers, and then draws a heart with his flight path in the air. "Ah, the innocence of youth. If you love the girl, it's going to happen eventually! Just let me escape first, alright? Maybe bribe me with cheese too."

Adrien puts his head in his hands and groans in embarrassment. He leans against the nearest wall and slides down to sit on the ground. "How am I going to sleep tonight? How am I going to face Marinette tomorrow? I'm horrible!"

Plagg floats over and strokes Adrien's cheek, almost seeming concerned. "Shh, shh. Let's go home, eat some Camembert, and not worry about anything. Whatever happens, happens."

He just groans some more. "She's going to kill me! She’s been right there, all this time, and I’ve ignored her!"

"Well, at least you can rest in peace knowing that you’re replaceable."

Adrien brings his head back up so he can look Plagg in the eye. "You're a real help, Plagg."

Plagg nods as if he had given a lot of sage advice, and begins pulling on Adrien's shirt. "You're welcome. Now, come on! Camembert calls to me!"

"We have to finish patrolling, first, and then get back to the dance. Plagg, claws out!"

As he jumps into the night, Chat Noir has a small smile on his face, and the thought of his Ladybug smiling warms his heart. "...I guess I have something to look forward to before my life is ruined by all the girls in it."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I've already got all the dialogue of chapter 2 planned out, just need to add all that oh so necessary descriptive text to it. And revise it. Several times. (This is my first AO3 post. Gods I hope I can edit after I post, I just KNOW I missed something.)
> 
> I'm going to cross-post this to my tumblr, also MiraculousMage. I may even put it on FF, haven't decided.
> 
> COMMENTS APPRECIATED


	2. Couer Noir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being patient! I am absolutely floored by the response I received. It's been so long since I wrote a fanfic, I forgot what it was like to get views and comments. I've tried to get everything just right for chapter two, answering questions that people had and whatnot. (For instance, I was nearly content skipping the dance night entirely, but people kept wanting to see it, so it's in this chapter as a flashback.)
> 
> (Chapter title note: "Couer Noir" means "Black Heart" in French.)
> 
> Without any further adieu, I present: chapter two!

* * *

Adrien feels like he’s sweating bullets as his car slows to a stop in front of the school. He needs to figure out how he's going to face Marinette. Try to play it cool? Yeah, playing it cool sounds nice, in front of Ladybug, who has a giant crush on him, without wearing his mask. That will work perfectly, he decides.

After getting out of the car, Nino's the first one to greet him, as usual. The other boy looks pretty worried, and Adrien wonders what the problem is as Nino starts speaking. "Hey, man, you alright? You haven't replied to any texts since the dance last night."

Adrien winces as he realizes he isn't even going to make it inside before his charade breaks. "Oh, uh, I'm okay now. I just... needed some alone time, after that. I know Chloe is a lot of things, but... I'm going to have trouble looking at her now."

Nino pats him on the back as they start walking towards the school. "No kidding! Chloe wanted the opposite of alone time, she had to be escorted out while she ranted about Alya and Marinette. Alya got kicked out too, for setting her off." He sighs as he remembers the mess that was the dance. "Man, I hope she isn't suspended. They'll be deciding later."

Adrien decides it's his turn to pat Nino's back, and tries to give him the patented Agreste Smile. "Probably not. Chloe's clearly in the wrong here, even if Ayla picked a bad time to make her point. Is uh, is Marinette around?"

Nino stares at Adrien for a moment, as if he can't believe what Adrien just said, before shaking his head. "Nah, haven't seen her around either. She'll probably dash in last minute, or not at all. Ayla told me she took yesterday pretty hard in general, and never answered her cell phone. Her parents said she just went straight to her room after getting home and never came out."

Adrien feels like his heart might shatter like so much glass at the thought of Marinette missing school over this. Ayla had confronted them last night with the knowledge that Chloe had stolen Marinette's flowers, the ones that she was going to use to ask someone else out, and Chloe hadn't been the least bit ashamed. In fact, Chloe acted like that Marinette deserved it for _daring_ to think she deserved to go to the dance with Adrien. (His friends never did confirm that that was Marinette's intention, but his talk with Ladybug put all the pieces into place.)

Alya then said something that angered him more than he'd ever care to admit. "You've been bullying Marinette for four years, Chloe. _Four years_ of lies, and theft, and abuse! If you were older, you'd be in prison!"

Chloe didn't even look surprised at the accusations, and Adrien could only stare in horror as she spoke in her usual shameless manner. "No, if I were older I'd be a decent politician, and Marinette would be the one behind bars. Who is the public going to believe, the mayor's daughter or some nobody who spends her time baking bread? Well, not like she's even here to accuse me. Just some mud-slinging journalist wanna-be."

Chloe had been his friend for years, which is why he had been willing to put up with a lot from her, but he decided that if Marinette _deserved_ to go danceless, so did Chloe. He left her, he left the building, he left being Adrien Agreste for the night, and went to go be alone as Chat Noir. He notes that it's kind of ironic that Chloe's actions may end up having the opposite effect she intended in the end.

He looks down at the pavement, Chloe's words causing him to remember all the times Marinette had stood up to Chloe when no one else would.  "I'm surprised she didn't tell me about the theft herself. I would've dumped Chloe on the spot if she had." He really would have. He knew flowers pretty well, because of his mother. Seeing that particular bouquet from Chloe made him think that maybe she was changing, just a little. He was so very, very wrong.

Nino tries to give him a smile, but he can sense a certain sadness behind it. "She's not the type to tread on your happiness, even if it means lying about stuff. Ayla's... not as nice, even if she means well."

Adrien stares into space for a moment, processing what Nino just said, before looking back at his friend in mild surprise. "...She's lied about stuff before?" Ladybug hated liars, he knew this for a fact.

Nino looks like he's guilty of some big crime, and is badly trying to act natural. "Ah, just, you know, little things- probably nothing you need to be concerned about. Like I said, she'd rather lie than make someone upset, you know?"

Adrien stares back off into space again, remembering all the times he's had to lie to protect his identity as Chat Noir, or to just keep his father happy. A familiar emptiness settles in his heart. "...Yeah, I guess I do know."

Nino pulls him away from the wall he was about to walk into, and starts pushing him through the building. "C'mon, let's go get ready. We can wait for the others in class."

* * *

 

Alya shows up several minutes later, and talks with Nino and Adrien about Marinette. They still had no word from her, it seems. They could see Chloe sulking in the corner, playing with her cell phone rather than pay attention to Adrien. Adrien hopes this is a good sign, and not a terrible one.

After an eternity from Adrien's perspective, his breath catches the moment Marinette steps through the door. She looks like hell, her hair lacking the shine and care he normally sees, her clothes not nearly as coordinated as he'd come to expect from an aspiring designer. She's staring down at the floor as she makes her way to her desk, but he can tell from what little he can see of her face she likely didn't get much sleep, even through the extra layers of make-up she applied. A million feelings and thoughts rush through his head all at once, and he can't help himself from letting out a startled "Marinette! Good morning!"

She doesn't even look his way as she gets to her desk, and all three of her friends are very alarmed. Ayla shakes her shoulder as she sits down. "Hey, Marinette, you in there somewhere? A supervillain get to you?"

This seems to snap her out of it, and Adrien can immediately see the look in her eyes as she switches from feeling sorry about herself to protective of her friends. He wonders how he never noticed she had the same look in her eyes as Ladybug, even if they were slightly different colors. She stands up in a hurry, startling the people around her. "Villain?! Where?!"

Alya grabs Marinette and puts her back in her seat. "Whoa, calm down there, hero. It was a joke, but I guess that also answers my question. You're really out of it, are you sure you should be in school?"

Marinette puts on a smile, and Adrien can immediately tell it's as fake as his own. "Huh? Why wouldn't I be in school? I'm fine, Alya."

There it is- the shield of lies. The same one Ladybug tried to use when she got upset yesterday. Alya rolls her eyes at the response. "Oh, don't give me that. I'm a journalist! I know a lie when I hear one. Also, I'm your friend, and I know YOUR lies when I hear them. Go back home, I'll cover you. Eat ice cream in your pajamas or something. Also, Adrien said good morning. You should say hi back."

Marinette blinks, and looks at Adrien. Adrien blushes at the sudden staring contest, but Marinette doesn't seem to give it a second thought. She looks back at Alya, and points at Adrien as if asking a question. Alya nods, and Marinette looks back down at Adrien. Her face turns completely red as she lets out a meek "G'mornin'."

Adrien gives a small wave to her, mildly amused. It's still a little hard for him to believe that Ladybug could be so different without the mask, but he knows exactly how freeing that mask can be. He's distracted from thoughts of Ladybug when his phone lets him know he just received a message. He looks down at it and realizes it's not a number he recognizes, and opening it up, he sees that it's a photo message. It seems to be a photo of a girl completely covered in flour, the bag covering her head. However, Adrien recognizes that it's inside the Dupain-Cheng bakery, having been there quite a few times by now. "Huh? Is... is this a photo of YOU, Marinette?"

Marinette completely pales at the image on Adrien's phone, and Adrien feels the warmth drain from his face just as fast. Before Adrien can put the photo away, she immediately starts packing her stuff again and speaking so fast that Adrien almost misses what she says.

"YouknowAlyayou'rerightI'mnotfeelingwellI'lltalktoyoulaterBYE"

With that, she dashes out the door, nearly bowling over the teacher on her way out. The professor leans back out into the hallway, clearly aggravated enough to reprimand her for running. Adrien is completely confused, and looks back down at the photo. He's unsure whether to feel guilty or angry or just sad for a moment, and then he settles on sad. "I... don't understand."

Nino just pats him on the shoulder. "That's okay. I do. I'll explain later. We'll go visit during lunch, alright? We'll leave the texting to Alya for now, since she can't come with."

"Okay, Nino. I'm just... worried. She's my friend, y'know?"

"I know dude. I know."

* * *

 

Once lunch comes around, Alya and Chloe head to the principal's office in order to have a chat about what happened at the dance. This leaves Adrien and Nino to head over to Marinette's place. Adrien is grateful for the backup from his best friend; now that he knows Marinette- the real Marinette, he's not sure he'll be able to stay composed around her without his mask on.

During the walk over, his phone keeps buzzing, and he keeps receiving photos of Marinette from the past. Each one is from a different embarrassing incident, but Adrien's fascinated because to him, this is Ladybug's- no, Marinette's past, an entire section of her life that he wasn't privy to because he was the new guy in school. Nino stares at his friend skeptically as he saves another photo to a gallery simply titled "Marinette."

"Are you sure you should be saving those? Someone-" He coughs suddenly, and Adrien swears he hears Nino let out a choked 'Chloe' before he stops coughing. "-is trying to hurt your friend by sending you those."

Adrien feels a small pang of guilt as he says that, and stares back down at the latest photo, this one of Marinette having what can be described as a wardrobe malfunction during a school play. "Well... I don't think they're having the intended effect... and honestly, I like having photos of my friends. Even embarrassing ones. It makes me feel happy to browse them when I'm alone."

Nino sighs in defeat as they approach the bakery. "Alright, whatever floats your boat. If I didn't know you better, I'd think you have a crush on that girl. Just don't let Marinette touch your phone... or let me find the Nino folder."

The thought of Marinette browsing his phone suddenly terrifies him, especially since he also has a collection of Ladybug photos, but he shakes it off and hits the lock button. "It's fine. She's not going to be able to figure out my password, anyways."

His friend gets a mischievous glint in his eye. "Is it 'Ladybug?'"

Adrien regrets telling Nino even a hint of his true feelings for the superheroine. "N-No! It has to be a numeric password!"

He'll never admit the password is the date he met her.

* * *

 

Adrien is first into the bakery, and he can see Madame Cheng at the counter. He again feels nervousness well up within him, but Nino pushes him forward, and he has to push it down. This is for Marinette, he tells himself, as he puts on the practiced smile he hates so much. "Excuse me? Madame? Is Marinette home?"

He can see the recognition light up her eyes, and the energy in her eyes is comparable to Marinette's. "Oh, Adrien!" She puts down a tray of croissants so she can focus more on the boys. "Yes, she is. She seemed really out of it when we sent her off to school. I'm glad she decided to come back. She's upstairs, but I'm not sure I should send you up to see her."

Adrien knows that he can't turn back, not now. He swallows his discomfort at having to face Marinette again so soon, but he knows it's for the best. "Please, Madame Cheng. She's my friend. I want to see if I can make her smile."

She seems almost surprised at his words, and she looks to Nino and back to Adrien before giving them a relaxed smile. "...Alright, alright. You know the way." She gives him a playful wink as she gets back to work. "And no funny business!"

Adrien knows a perfect opportunity for a pun when he sees one, and he can't resist. "But madame, laughter is the best medicine!"

Monsieur Dupain's laughter can be heard from further back, and Madame Cheng scowls in her husband's general direction. Adrien uses the lapse in attention on him to dash upstairs, a natural reaction for Chat Noir, but he can tell that he surprised Nino with it, because it takes several seconds for Nino to also come up.

After they reach the living room, Nino grabs his friend's arm before they continue. Adrien turns to see Nino acting nervously, scratching the back of his head with his other arm. "Hey, uh, I need the bathroom real quick, so you can uh, go ahead without me."

Adrien recognizes this behavior- it's the sort of lie he'd use to get away as Chat Noir. "...this is one of those "Lie to your friends for their own good" things, right?"

Nino drops both of his arms and lets out a deep sigh. He looks into Adrien's eyes for a moment, and he looks torn between being happy and annoyed, an awkward smile on his face. "Man, stop being so perceptive, it's freaking me out. You're supposed to be the oblivious friend."

Adrien gives an awkward smile of his own, rather than one of his modeling smiles. "What can I say? I'm seeing the whole world in a new light right now."

* * *

 

He stands in front of the hatch to her room for a moment, not sure if he's really ready to go through with this. Plagg floats up to his shoulder and lays down for a moment, as if to give him support. He pets the Kwami on the head for a moment before placing him back into his jacket pocket, takes a deep breath, and pushes the hatch open a little while knocking.

"Marinette?"

There's silence for a moment, and he can see her legs over by her computer desk, still in the same pants she wore to school. She scrambles to stand up, and her voice is several octaves higher than he's used to. "A-Adrien?!"

He opens the hatch some more, so they can see each other clearly. She looks a bit better now, and he can tell she changed her top out since she got home. Her makeup seems to have been fixed as well. He instantly feels warmer at the sight. "Hey. Sorry if I'm bothering you-"

She seems to flail a bit, and she leans over to put something away on her computer desk. "No! Never! I'm- uh-"

Adrien steps into her room and looks around. He'd been here before, but something seems different this time. He realizes she has some posters of him up on the walls, and he feels a burning warmth in his cheeks- he figured she liked him, but not this much. He remembers his Ladybug collection and decides that this is probably normal.

He looks back to her, and she seems almost... terrified of him. He forces down his own feelings again, which no longer feels like an easy task like it was before, and walks up to one of the posters to play the part he's played for so long. "Oh! I remember these photoshoots!"

He peeks at her out of the corner of his eye. She looks near instantly relieved, and she sits back down into her chair. "Y-yeah?"

He looks at more photos of himself lining the walls. He'd be embarrassed if he didn't have similar walls in his own home. He runs a hand over one of the many Adriens as he talks. "You really like my dad's fashion lines, right? You've certainly got a lot of reference photos."

She looks nearly proud of the fact. "O-Of course! He's been my role model for years."

His mind drifts to how his father has acted towards him for the last few years. Definitely not role model material, in his mind, and he finds his brain-to-mouth filter isn't holding up as well as he'd like. "Hope you don't get your parenting lessons from him."

He's amused to see her roll her eyes, a very familiar gesture from Ladybug, but not so much from Marinette. "Oh God no-" She immediately looks horrified, and places her mouth over her hand to shut herself up. It seems he's not the only one with a faulty filter right now. After a moment, she lets herself speak again.  "I mean- Uh-"

He tries to get her to relax again. "It's okay. He's been kind of a jerk lately."

She looks like she wants to say something, but she lets out a large sigh, and seems to melt into her chair somewhat as she pushes backward. "...I'm sorry."

This surprises him. He was expecting a lot of ways for this conversation to go, but that wasn't one of them. "For what?"

She looks away from him, and he follows her gaze to a dress-form she had set up. A dress he has never seen before stands on it, and it takes his breath away to just stare at it. The bodice is black and fitted, complete with princess pleats and a sweetheart neckline. The skirt is knee length and bell shaped, likely held up by layers and layers of petticoat. Made from two layers, the top is an eye-popping red and black polkadot, parting in a sweeping curve at the front to reveal an iridescent white underskirt. Red butterfly sleeves hang off the mannequin's shoulders - just enough to ease the minds of protective parents. He blushes at the idea of Marinette actually wearing this. He almost doesn't hear her begin to speak again. "For just... everything. I ruined your dance night."

His stomach twists into a knot. Marinette was worried about _his_  dance night? "No you didn't! Chloe ruined it, really. If it hadn't been for her, I probably would have just danced with Nino and Alya."

She looks almost ready to cry, and Adrien finds himself wondering where the usual Marinette is. "Yeah, but, Alya defended me, and-"

He can't help but interrupt her, some of his anger at the situation in general leaking into his tone. "And you think defending people is wrong, somehow?"

She seems nearly shocked at his response. "No! Of course not! I've just... learned there's a time and place, I guess."

He doesn't really have a reply to that, not without referencing Ladybug, and he feels that's a bad idea right now. Instead, he gestures to her dress. "Okay, but what about YOUR dance night? Your flowers got stolen! I can uh, return them after school if you want-"

She waves her hands about, as if to shield herself from him, he feels. "N-no! No! That's okay, I..." She smiles as she relaxes and looks away, but Adrien knows an empty smile when he sees one. "...I don't have the courage to give them to him anymore."

Chloe's words sting his brain again, and his curiosity starts to get the better of him. "Who's him? I-I mean, he?"

She starts to speak, but seems to think better of it. "I- Nobody you know."

That sounds like a lie to Adrien, and his curiosity is only getting worse. He knows the answer is "You" but the desire to hear it from Marinette and not Ladybug is strong. "You sure? It has to be somebody in our school, right?"

She looks away from him, and he realizes a little too late he might be hurting her feelings like this. "I... Well, it's not important anymore, anyways. I'm not sure I'm up for dealing with boys for a while."

He feels his grasp on his feelings leave him. Those were exactly the words he didn't want to hear right now. His filter shuts off again, in some vain attempt to recover this. "That mean you're turning down that date offer that came your way?"

Her eyes look wide in terror as she jumps at the word "date." "Wh-what? How did you know about-" He can see the moment it clicks in her head what he means, and she settles into a much more confident Marinette as she rolls her eyes. "He told you, didn't he. Ugh, that silly cat..."

Adrien can't sigh in relief right now, but he really wants to. If she hadn't known what he was talking about, he'd feel pretty awful. "Yeah, Chat told me. Couldn't shut up about it, really."

She almost looks a bit angry at the idea. "Ladybug hasn't even had time to tell him I said yes! I mean-"

He can feel his heart go from the pit it's been in since this morning to soaring. "Ladybug's been here? Hope she managed to cheer you up at least a little bit. And I hope that date goes well!"

She seems to relax for a moment, showing him her first smile all day. "She... does that." Again, something clicks, and she looks like she's trying to mime a wall between the two of them.  "D-Don't take it the wrong way! This... date... isn't going to go anywhere."

He can't help but smirk, because he figures it's going to go lots of places. "One of the most eligible bachelors in Paris wants a date with you and you're already writing him off?"

She shrinks a little at the smirk, and seems unable to look him in the face. "Well, I mean, I... _really_ like that other guy, so..."

"Oh really? Who in Paris is better than Chat Noir?" He resists the urge to flex. It's really hard not to, but he doesn't have the mask, it'll look weird, like he thinks he's better than himself somehow.

She's silent for a moment, as if pondering the question, or at least a way to get out of answering it. "What about you? If Chat was talking it up that much, then that means you have a date too, right?"

He feels like he just went from being in the spotlight to being in headlights. "Ah- she... told you about that?"

She seems to be more confident now that the spotlight is off of her. "We're girls, Adrien. Of course we talk about dates. So? How do you feel about going on a date with one of Paris's most eligible bachelorettes?"

No use beating around the bush about it, he figures. "Frightened, honestly. I mean, I like her, but..."

She almost looks like that one word was a blow, one she tries to hide that she's taking. "But?"

It pains him to talk this way about the girl he loves most in the world, but he has to power through it for her sake as well as his. "I mean, does she really see me for me? Do I really see her for her? What if we're both just..." He pauses for a moment, contemplating exactly what it is he's telling Marinette. "...falling for people who don't exist?"

He stays still while he waits for her reaction. She seems to realize the silence is lasting longer than healthy, as she spits out her reply in disbelief. "Y-you seem real to me!"

He knows she's trying to comfort her, but the words still sting, somehow. "I try. But... it's like a mask, you know? A mask I've spent years wearing. I have a hard time just being myself around my friends. How am I going to be myself around Ladybug?"

The silence feels like it's going to choke him. He wonders if he shouldn't have told her to her face that even she doesn't know him that well, but she seems to honestly be thinking of an answer to his question. "Maybe get an actual mask? Works for her."

"Wh-what? Really?" Of all the things he was expecting Marinette to say, "put on a mask" was the last thing he was expecting. While it did allow him to be himself, Ladybug hadn't shown much romantic interest in Chat Noir.

She seems honestly happy with his response, and she immediately pulls out a pencil to sketch something. "Y-yeah! She might appreciate it, and, well, help her be herself too. Then you can just... see where things go?"

He looks over to see what she's sketching. It seems to be a design for a Ladybug-themed mask, similar but not the same to the one she wore. "It... might work. Yeah. Yeah! Hey, maybe we can get one for your date with Chat."

Her pencil snaps as she places pressure on it, but she seems to ignore that as she looks back at Adrien, rolling her eyes. "I _hardly_ need any help being myself around him. He's too much of a goofball to get stressed out near."

He can feel a rush of guilt about all of the times she stuttered and stammered around Adrien. He knows for sure that she's comfortable around Chat, so was she really that scared of him all the time? "You sure? You have a hard time being yourself like, all the time. Y-you're pretty cool when you've got it under control though! I can see why Chat Noir likes you. You're amazing." He feels a rush of heat to his face, and he mentally screams at himself to turn down the flirting until the actual dates.

She seems to be blushing just as badly as he is, which is not really a comfort. "Y-you think so really? I-I mean, really think so?"

He hasn't seen her mix up her words like that in weeks. He smiles a little bit, finding it cute now. "You've probably got better odds of marrying Chat than I do of getting a second date."

She flinches, and Adrien realizes his mistake instantly. "Oh geez, I hope not."

He tries to backpedal and apologize, coughing into his hand to clear his throat as he looks away from her. "O-oh, right, that other guy-"

He stops speaking when she places her hands on his. He finds himself staring into her eyes, her wonderful eyes that are as deep as the sky that he could get lost in so easily that he almost misses what she's saying. "Not just that. You deserve to be happy, Adrien."

He feels empty, for a moment. The words feel like they're bouncing around in his skull. After a moment, they stop bouncing, and settle down, and they feel... warm.

There's a sob. It takes him a moment to realize it's his. It takes another moment to realize he's hugging Marinette, and his brain seems to finally catch up to reality when he feels her hugging him back. She's warm, like her words.

He pulls back in order to look her in the eyes again, trying not to be embarrassed about letting his persona slip like that. She seems far more surprised than he does at the contact, and he tries to let his own words comfort her. "Th-thanks, Marinette. I mean it. And... you deserve to be happy too. If you're really set on that other guy, I hope things work out for you." Something clicks into place in his brain, and now curiosity is getting the better of him again as he lets go of her. "...Why'd you even say yes, anyways?"

Her look of surprise doesn't change for a few more seconds, and he's worried that he's broken her. Thoughts of a murderous Alya creep into his brain, but before she can murder future-Adrien, Marinette snaps out of her stupor to look more awkward than stunned, and clear her throat. "Chat's a good person, Adrien. How can I just say no to him?"

He puts his hand on hers, just like she had done a moment before. This is the Marinette he hadn't realized existed until just recently, the one who tries to make everyone happy, even at the cost of herself. He's glad they have yet another thing in common. "You're allowed to say no to people, Marinette. Especially if you like someone else." Images of the dance with Chloe spring to mind, and he can't help but feel like a giant hypocrite. He'll remember to take that advice himself from now on.

She looks like she's trying to retreat into her clothes as she blushes, and he's reminded of a turtle. "I-I know that! It's more like..." She looks to the side, and he can see that she has the Ladyblog up on her computer, a video of Chat Noir paused from the moment he had walked in. "...even if I'm not really interested in him as a boyfriend... it'd be nice to be his friend." She seems to work up the courage to look him in the eyes again. "You know?"

He stares into her eyes for a moment. She wants to be his friend. She doesn't just want to be his partner, but his friend as well. He feels his heart warm up again, and all of a sudden he's laughing, because a thought strikes him, and he can't resist letting just a little bit of the cat out of the bag. "Well, best hope he's not the type to wear a fedora then... m'lady."

She goes from shy to shocked in an instant, and he revels in it before it turns into mock anger. "Adrien Agreste, do not even _go_ there!"

He stands up and stretches a little, just like he would as Chat Noir. "Man, can you imagine if he said that to Ladybug? Or how about..." He mimes a hat on his head, and tips it to her. "...M'Ladybug?"

He can tell she's trying to maintain a stern face, to not laugh out loud at his antics- and that she's failing. It's exhilarating. "A-Adrien, please!"

He strikes a pose, like he imagines a supervillain would, and goes into a speech. "Hello, Marinette! I'm so upset that you put me into the friend-zone that I've been Akumatized! I am Chat Noir no longer! Now, I am... _COEUR NOIR_! MY MASTER PLAN IS TO GET RID OF ALL THE BOYS IN THE WORLD SO THAT I'LL BE THE LAST ONE ON EARTH! THEN, YOU'LL HAVE TO DATE ME, _MEOW_ -RINETTE! IT'S A _PURR_ -FECT PLOT!"

She bursts out laughing, and she has to grip her chair so that she doesn't fall onto the floor. She looks up at him, the biggest grin on her face he's seen in possibly months. "A-ADRIEN, NO!"

He again poses dramatically. "ADRIEN, YES!" There's a brief moment of silence between the two of them before they both burst into laughter again. He manages to get a peek at her laughing face as she falls onto the floor, not even bothering to help herself up as she continues laughing. He stops laughing in order to just enjoy the sound of her voice, something he’s never really gotten to do before, but she soon stops too and looks at him with that same grin, her laughter devolving into an awkward chuckle.

He almost feels guilty that he has to leave. Hopefully, the two dates will go just as well as this meeting has. He makes a show of looking down at his phone and checking the time. "Oh, I best get going back to school. I hope you feel better soon, Marinette. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"Th-thanks. I feel a lot better already. I'll see you at school tomorrow." He smiles at that, and starts to head towards the hatch. As he pulls it open, he can hear her speak up again. "Oh, um... about that photo..."

Adrien tries not to show his panic on his face at the mention of the photo. Marinette definitely doesn't need to know that he had received several more while he was in the room. He silently thanks the heavens for silent mode as he turns to look at her again, turning on the classic Agreste Charm as he descends down through the hatch. "You don't need to worry about that, Marinette. Besides, I thought it was cute. Anyways, see ya!"

* * *

 

Marinette waved at Adrien as he left. She kept waving for an entire minute after he was gone, and she would've kept waving if Tikki hadn't flown into her line of sight. This breaks the spell, and Marinette can't help but raise her voice at the Kwami. "TIKKI. WHAT. WAS. THAT."

The small red being lets out a giggle as cute as herself. "He does a wonderful Chat Noir impression, don't you think?"

Marinette slumps into her chair, putting her hand to her face in frustration. She doesn't even want to THINK about Chat Noir right now. " _NOT THAT, TIKKI._ "

Tikki seems to ponder something for a moment, but Marinette knows she's just playing around. "Hmm... Oh! Right." She looks like she just remembered something very important, and floats closer to Marinette's face in order to appear more serious as she strikes a rigid pose. "In my professional opinion as an ancient Kwami..." She breaks out of the pose to press her hands against her cheeks and make her eyes look as wide as possible. "...I think he _likes_  you, Marinette!"

Marinette's brain immediately comes up with every possible excuse that doesn't involve Adrien liking Marinette, and settles for the easiest one within reach. "B-but he likes Ladybug!"

Tikki floats over to pet her on the cheek soothingly. Her warm touch always calms down Marinette. "People can like more than one person at a time, Marinette. Besides, you _are_  Ladybug. Maybe he can see the same qualities in both of you? You might just be his type! He certainly seemed to let his guard down around you."

Marinette giggles as she remembers how silly he was acting. "I-I guess? And I can tell he hangs out with Chat. Those puns. Those awful, awful puns. I need a good brain-scrub to get " _Meow_ -rinette" out of my head."

Tikki floats down and playfully punches her in the shoulder. "Let's hope Chat Noir doesn't have the same pun then!"

Marinette laughs at the thought for a moment, and then the other shoe finally drops, and she feels guilty again. She'd been thinking more about Adrien than Chat until now. "...oh, Tikki, what am I gonna do about Chat? He's nice, I don't want to break his heart."

Tikki hopped into her hands, so that she could look Marinette in the face. "These things happen, Marinette. Your heart only has so much room for love. Though, there was that Ladybug with three husbands..."

Marinette giggles at the thought of Adrien and Chat both taking her out on a date. "I know,  I know, but... If he likes me because I remind him of Ladybug, then that means double the heartbreak. I thought he was just being a flirt with me before, but..."

Tikki hops a little in her hands to get her attention. "Maybe we can try to find him someone else later? There has to be someone out there for him! He can't be _that_  unlucky!"

She immediately tries to think of any girls in her class that might be good for Chat. She flinches at the idea of leaving him with Chloe or Sabrina, Alya and Mylene are taken, and she doesn't think Juleka, Rose, or Alix are his type, so she nixes the idea. "Heh. Maybe we can put out an ad in the paper for a girl who likes puns, cats, and acting dramatic. Or ask Alya to put it on the Ladyblog! He's bound to have fangirls."

Tikki, as usual, brings her back down to Earth. "You sure he'd appreciate being put on the spot like that?"

She sighs as she places Tikki on the table, only for the Kwami to start floating again. "Yeah, maybe you're right..." She eyes the sketchbook again, seeing the half-finished mask design and the snapped pencil tip. She picks up the pencil, finds a sharpener, and gets back to work. "Well, I might not be quite ready to go back to school, but I _can_  make a mask for Adrien now that I'm feeling better."

Tikki floats over the paper to get a better view, and giggles. "I'm sure he'll love it, even if he doesn't know Ladybug is making it for him. And maybe you can make one for yourself too?"

She worries about the implications of wearing a mask around Chat. He might figure out her identity, and that'd just make things worse for the both of them. "...I dunno..."

Tikki sets down next to the sketch of Adrien she was making around the mask, and started speaking in a singsong voice. "Adrien seemed to _really_ like the idea!"

She puts down the pencil to pet Tikki on the head, both of them giggling. "Okay, okay. You really know what buttons to press, Tikki."

Tikki moves out from under the girl's hand to look her in the eyes again. "You learn a few tricks when you get to be my age. Especially when it comes to romance."

Marinette smiles again, glad to have a friend she can talk to about this. With that, she puts her pencil to paper again to design a second mask.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Comments are appreciated! What do you want to see from this fanfic? I have a general idea of where it's going, but feel free to leave input!
> 
> Shoutout to my best friend mystsong for writing the dress description because I am completely awful with fashion.


	3. Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette figure out how to set up these dates in the most round-about way possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have rushed this to post without a beta-reader, but hopefully the quality is about the same, even if it is shorter. Read and enjoy!

Ladybug finds herself on the same bar of the Eiffel Tower that she was sitting on yesterday, but now the sight of the city at night is actually calming her. She even picks up the sound of Chat trying to sneak up on her, and turns her head to to let him know before he makes a fool of himself. He catches on instantly, and breaks into a bow.

"Good evening, my Lady. Feeling better tonight?"

Ladybug smiles at her partner gently, making sure not to give him too much too soon. "Yeah, you could say that. I've had some time to put yesterday behind me."

He gives her a smirk, and she can tell the joke is coming before the first word leaves his mouth. "That's kind of how time works, Bugaboo."

She looks away from him in a huff, to look back over the city instead. "You know what I mean!"

He just chuckles at that, and after a moment, he sits down next to her and seems to be staring out at the city as well. She decides to tease him and not speak up for a minute, and she can tell it's starting to get to him when he starts rocking on the ledge. His feet are kicking more wildly with every passing second, and she finally speaks up when she realizes he's going to leave claw marks from how hard he's gripping the metal.

"Okay, so, I talked to Marinette..."

His cat ears perk up, and once again she finds herself wondering how they work beyond just 'magic.' She can tell he's stopped breathing as he stares at her wide-eyed, and it takes everything she has not to giggle. He resumes breathing after a moment, if just to speak one word.

"And?" 

"And while it took some... _convincing_..." She eyes him again, and he's leaning in, as if his very fate hangs in the balance here. She can feel a small drop of guilt, deep in her soul, for using him like this, but they had sworn to keep their identities a secret, and not agreeing to all of this would have been even more suspicious.

"She's agreed to a date." 

She makes sure to commit his reaction to memory. The smile comes to his mouth slowly, almost like he can't believe this is real. He lets out a sigh, which turns into a chuckle, and then laughter as he gets up and dances on the bar. As he starts using the Eiffel Tower as a gigantic jungle gym, whooping and hollering, she decides to interrupt him.

"Alright, settle down, Romeo. Are you a cat or a monkey?"

He picks her up, ignoring her protests and squeals of laughter, and starts swinging her around as well before he brings her into a giant hug. She's surprised by how warm he feels, even though they've hugged before, and realizes it's because she's feeling cold. "You have no idea how much this means to me, Ladybug."

She puts a finger up to his nose and pushes him off playfully, as is their routine at this point. That guilty feeling is in her stomach now. It isn't going away. "Well, apparently a lot. Best bring your A-game if you want to actually sweep her off her feet."

He leans back in, his smile going from the childlike innocence it was displaying to his usual cunning smirk. "Don't I always bring my A-game?"

She thinks back to all the times he had tried flirting with Ladybug. She raises an eyebrow at his expectant expression. Did he really think that was attractive? "I give it a C-minus."

He places a hand over his heart as he gasps dramatically. That's the Chat Noir she knows. "You wound me, my Lady." She doesn't want to know what he would say if she actually hurt him.

She needs to change topics. "So? I presume you'll be able to set up that, uh..." 

He rolls his eyes at her, an expression she's not used to seeing used against her. "Yes, yes, you will get your evening with Monsieur Agreste. As if anyone would turn down a date with you, my lady."

He says that so matter-of-factly, she's surprised. Where was his usual flirting tone? She tries to quash that line of thought with a different one. "So all that's left is figuring out what kind of dates. Any plans you have in particular? A fancy restaurant, a picnic in the park, a rendezvous at the top of the Tower?" 

He looks back over the city, his tone again more distant that she's used to. "Part of me wants to surprise her, but..."

She doesn't even realize she's holding her breath for a moment, and tries to be subtle about resuming. "But?"

He's smiling. It's odd, to see Chat simply being content, as if thinking about Marinette is all he needs right now. "I know she does amazing design work. If I tell her it's at least semi-formal, I'm sure to see a _really_  cute dress."

His smile turns into a grin, and he's looking at her, and she's looking at him like she's never seen him before, and oh goodness was it getting hot up here? She needs to focus on something else. His words echo in her mind again, and she latches on to what feels like a life preserver in this ocean of guilt.  

"Do you even have anything semi-formal to wear?"

His expression changes to one of pure confusion. "I'd be more surprised if I didn't!" She gestures down to his cat-suit, and all of a sudden he looks embarrassed. "Oh. You mean, like this." He starts muttering to himself, but she can still clearly make out his words as he curls in on himself a little. "Maybe I can change into a suit after I transform..."

She giggles at the new sides of Chat Noir she's seeing tonight. She wonders if he'll still be like this on... on the date. "I take it you don't know about our ability to change our transformation, then." 

His voice drops to the flattest she's ever heard from him, and his ears flatten as well. "Our what."

She's trying not to burst into outright laughter. Why was it so funny that he really didn't know? "Yeah, my Kwami told me. Our default transformation is based around our ideal of a hero. If we really want to, we can change it up, but it'll wear off much faster."

Chat looks like he's contemplating this, a claw tapping his chin as he stares out at the lights in the distance. She leans in a little, trying to hear the little gears in his head coming to life to bring him his next idea. She realizes too little too late just how close she is when he turns to her with another sly grin. "Ah, so you _want_  to run around Paris in a skin-tight suit."

She looks away, trying to hide her blush as she gives her excuse. "What can I say? Spider-Man is my idol."

He snorts, as if he wasn't expecting this answer, and she can tell he's looking at the stars now. "I'm more of a Batman kind of guy."

The thought of Chat Noir trying to be dark and serious startles her, and she wants to know more. "Really? Not Black Panther or Flash?"

"Okay, for one, I didn't get to pick being a cat. Secondly, have you even seen Brave and the Bold? And third, I'm a rich white guy with no-"

He stops mid-sentence. She can tell immediately that something's wrong, as he seems to be hyper-tense. His mouth has a deep frown, his ears seem more pointed than usual, and he's gripping the ledge. For a second, it crosses her mind that he looks as bad as she feels right now.

"Chat?" 

This seems to break whatever spell he's under. His ears droop, he lets out a breath he's been holding, and he looks away from her. "N-Nothing. Sorry, personal stuff. Tell Marinette I prefer casual." He looks towards her, but his ears aren't perking back up again. "Any preferences for your date with Adrien?"

Thoughts cloud her mind of all the dates she has ever planned with Adrien. She swears there's steam coming out from her ears from how hot she's feeling right now. "Ah. Um. I could... oh my god, Chat, I don't even know where to _start_."

He chuckles at her, and she's surprised that he's getting up before she is. He almost never tries to leave before she's ready to do so too. "Right, I'll get his opinion on it. C'mon, it's patrol time, and Paris is waiting."

She stares at him as he hops down from the tower, oblivious to her concern. She bites her lip as she thinks about what it could be that had gotten him so rattled, and the topic of conversation pops into her head once more. Was he... was he going to say no _parents_?

* * *

 

Marinette tries to get through the next day without thinking about Chat Noir. She really does. However, every time she looks at the beautiful head of blonde hair in front of her, trying to distract herself with thoughts of a date yet to come, she can't help but think about a boy with a similar, slightly more wild head of hair. She nearly made herself sick last night worrying about if Chat was an orphan or not. Looking at Adrien in front of her, she knows he at least has a father, even though the man was hardly in his life. Alya picks up on her worries, and asks her what's wrong, but she placates her with talk of "It's complicated" and "I'll tell you later," even though she has no idea how to talk to Alya about this without referencing the masks.

She tries to pay attention to the school lessons, but more often than not she finds her mind has drifted, and she realizes she's drawn out another idea for a mask for herself or Adrien to wear on the dates. How many masks could she possibly need?

Once the lunch break starts, she sighs to herself, and starts packing up her notebooks. There's a tap on her shoulders, and she looks up to see Adrien looking down at her. It takes everything she has not freeze on the spot as he speaks. "Hey, Marinette, mind if I have lunch at your place today? Wanted to talk more about, you know, the thing. Could really use your advice."

She looks at his face for a moment as she tries to recall what thing he could be talking about, concerned about what could make Adrien Agreste even remotely shy. When she realizes that he's worried about the exact same thing she is, she lets out a startled response. "Th-the thing! Yeah, we can, talk about that."

He looks positively ecstatic, his smile melting all of the worries in her heart. "Great! I'll meet you outside in ten minutes."

As he waves goodbye to her as he leaves, the melting continues as she sinks into her seat with a smile on her own face. "S-sure!"

After he leaves, she's not sure exactly how long she's been waving goodbye when Alya puts a hand on her shoulder. "....Girl, what was that?"

Her automatic response for Ladybug-related things comes up before she realizes what she's saying. "What was what?"

Alya's frown measures out her disapproval before her words come out, and Marinette feels the grip on her shoulder tighten. "Uh-uh, you don't get to pull the "I'm hiding things" deflection when I just saw _that_ happen. What's this _thing_ you're talking about?"

Marinette quickly pulls away from the girl's grip. Knowing that she means well doesn't make it hurt less. "Alya! It's... it's private."

Alya leans in closer, trying to prevent other people from listening in as she gives Marinette a look of utter disbelief. "The boy of your dreams is coming over to your place for lunch and you're telling me it's too private to tell your best friend about?"

Marinette bites her lip. Why, oh _why_ did her best friend have to be the one person most interested in knowing about anything Ladybug-related? She can't even look her friend in the eye anymore, and she has to think about Adrien just to get through this. "Y-yeah."

Alya doesn't say anything for a moment, and then puts her hand on Marinette's shoulder again. It's much gentler this time, and Marinette turns to see her friend looking more concerned than anything else. Alya just shakes her head before she speaks “Oh girl, I know _that_ look."

Marinette knows she doesn’t have the best poker face, but she’s not sure what kind of vibe she’s giving off right now. "What look?"

Alya sighs, and starts packing up her own things as well. "The "I'm going to make him happy even if it kills me" look." 

Marinette can feel her face heat up. Alya is definitely better than most at reading her emotions. “Oh. That look.” 

Alya's smile looks like she's trying to be reassuring, and the guilty feeling Marinette's been trying to put off all morning returns. "Marinette... don't forget to make yourself happy too. If he hurts you, he's not getting out unscathed!" She pumps her fist, acting as if she'd be able to take Adrien in a fight. Despite all of Adrien's fencing experience, Marinette's still scared of what Alya could do to the boy.

"Alya! It's fine, really. I'm... I'm okay with it." The voice in her head that says 'No you aren't' sounds suspiciously like Tikki. 

Alya looks like she doesn't believe her, either, but she gets up from her seat. "Alright. I suggest you don't keep him waiting, then, if it's really that important. Who knows, maybe it'll be a chance to snag him once and for all!"

Marinette blushes, and after Alya leaves, she whispers to herself, "I really hope it is."

* * *

 

Adrien hasn't even made it out the door when he receives a text on his phone. He looks down, and is surprised to see it's from Alya. He quickly reads the message as he heads outside to wait for Marinette.

_What are you talking to my girl about? You better not be hurting her somehow._

He remembers the thought he had yesterday about a murderous Alya and flinches. He needs to placate her wrath, quickly. He writes up as honest a reply as he can manage right now.

_If I end up hurting her, you'll have two wrecks on your hands. God I hope I don't mess this up._

He decides to sit down on the stairs as he waits for a response. It comes back rather quickly.

_Wait, are you... asking her out???_

Plagg's looking out from under his coat and snickers. "Boy, does she have things turned around. You've already got the dates set!"

Adrien gives a glare at his companion as he types out a half-truth.

_Not yet._

The response comes even faster this time, and he's amused that she's put on the caps lock. 

_OMG DO YOU LIKE HER_

He figures there's no backing out now. He'll have to talk about this to Nino later before she spoils everything to him.

_Yes! Like... a lot._

_OMG FOR HOW LONG_

He thinks back to the day he first met Ladybug. It might be suspicious to say "Since the day we met" to Alya, considering what was going on in their civilian lives at the time, so he broadens it a little.

_Kind of... since September._

_YOU'RE A LOT BETTER AT KEEPING SECRETS THAN SHE IS THEN_

He laughs at how untrue that really is. There's no way Alya knows that Marinette is Ladybug; she's still posting all the hints to she can find of the heroine's identity to the Ladyblog. He only figured it out because Ladybug had a moment of weakness.

_Acting is in my job description :P_

_WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK HER OUT SOONER_

Technically, he had tried. Several times. Ladybug always shot him down. Without the masks, both of them were far too nervous for this sort of thing, too. He realizes with slight horror that while he was lost in his distracting thoughts, Plagg had zoomed down to type up a message in his place. "P-Plagg!" The kwami sticks out his tongue as he zooms back into the jacket, and Adrien looks down at what he's sent to Alya.

_I didn't think I was cool enough for her!_

He groans as he waits for the response from the girl, and reluctantly reads the next message.

_You two are going to be perfect for each other._

His breath catches. That was far better than he expected.

_You really think so?_

_Yeah, you're both IDIOTS._

He stares at the message, and then bursts out laughing. Of course she would think that, that's probably the reason Marinette had taken so long to ask him out in the first place. He hears the door open behind him, and he turns to see said girl staring at him. _Speak of the devil_ , he thinks to himself as he waves and turns back to the phone for one final message.

_Gee, thanks. She's here, wish me luck!_

Alya’s reply is the fastest he’s received yet; it's a thumbs up emoji.

* * *

 

The walk over to the bakery is mostly quiet. It's not like they have far to go, after all, since it's literally across the street, and Adrien knows small-talk might startle her. When they get into the bakery, her parents seem surprised to see him. He explains he's here to get some studying in with Marinette, which isn't a total lie since he studies on lunch breaks regardless. They offer to give him some food as well, and as soon as he reaches for his wallet, they tell him it's on the house. (Will dating Marinette mean he'll get to meet her parents more often? He certainly hopes so. They're so nice to him.)

They go upstairs with a plate of croissants to start with, and open up their books on a table. Adrien decides to take a bite out of a croissant before they start up a conversation, and he has to stop himself from outright moaning. It feels like heaven packed into a piece of bread. He looks at Marinette, and she seems tense and nervous until she bites into one too. He chuckles at her expression, and this seems to only lightly startle her before she smiles back at him. It's now or never, he tells himself.

"Okay, so... I honestly have no idea what sort of date to take Ladybug on. At all."

She again looks startled, but in a way he hasn't seen before. Less like deer in the headlights, and with slightly more concern for him. "Really?"

He runs a hand through his hair as he tries to run through all of the scenarios he envisioned during school this morning. "I've never been on a date before!"

Her face twists some more, and he realizes she's more confused than anything else. Was it really that hard to believe Adrien had never been on a date? "Isn't... she the one taking you out?"

His mouth hangs open as he thinks about this. Even if Adrien had proposed the idea, Ladybug had indeed asked for the date first. "I guess? But I can't just leave all these things to her, I'm a gentleman, I..." He groans and drops his face on top of his math book. He stares at the formula on the page beneath him, wishing that there was some formula to making Ladybug happy on their date. He blinks, and finds himself agreeing with Alya. He really is an idiot. He looks back up at Marinette, with what he hopes is his best puppy eyes. "What kind of date would YOU want to go on, Marinette?"

She looks positively horrified, and he almost feels bad for asking that, but she calms down after a few seconds. "M-Me? I've never been on one either!"

That's a lie, and he feels guilty almost immediately when he calls her out on it. "What about that time with Evillustrator?"

The way she's looking at him, he feels like he's grown a second head. "How did you know about- Oh. Right." She sighs in exasperation, likely at the idea of Chat Noir telling Adrien about that night, and puts her head onto her own book for a moment. She picks herself back up and bites into a croissant angrily, and he finds the gesture rather cute. "That doesn't count! R-romantic as it was."

She thought that was romantic? Well, that's a start. He did spy on it, after all. "Okay, it's just... I trust a girl's opinion better than my own, and we're kind of in this together now."

She takes another bite of the croissant while she thinks, and he decides to give her time by munching on his own. After a minute, she seems to come to a decision. "Okay... but I'm not Ladybug."

An obvious lie to him, but to anyone else it would seem like an obvious fact. "Yeah, but if you were..."

She narrows her eyes at him for a moment, and he delights at how they widen when she realizes exactly who she's staring suspiciously at. She seems very interested in the wall all of a sudden. She edges her glance back to him, her face turning bright red. "...How about this? We tell each other what kind of date we want to go on, and I tell Ladybug and you tell Chat, and they can use that however they want. Deal?"

He smiles at her, glad to finally hear exactly what he wants to hear. "...Deal."

The door to the room opens up, and Tom Dupain enters, several plates in each arm. "I brought lunch! Hope you're hungry, we couldn't decide what to give you!"

Marinette looks very embarrassed, but accepts a plate with sandwiches on it from her father and gives him a kiss on the cheek. As Tom puts a plate of cookies in the middle as a dessert, Adrien tells himself that dating Marinette for the food would clearly be very wrong and that is definitely not why he's slightly more in love with her now than this morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you know putting an emoji in the story causes it to cut off everything after that?? HAHA LESSON LEARNED


End file.
